Administrative Structure and Hiring

A major law firm had realized some years earlier that the size and sophistication of the firm had overtaken the skills and ability of its principal administrator to manage it. After agonizing over the situation for quite some time, the managing partner decided that “something had to be done.” The administrator was let go and a search for a new one had begun.

Not satisfied with what he heard from headhunters, the managing partner turned to Altman Weil and its Executive Search services team. Although retained to find a good, new administrator, we soon discovered that there were problems with the administrative organizational structure and some of the reporting relationships. Before embarking on the search, we advised the firm to provide sufficient authority to the administrator to accompany the responsibility he or she would be expected to shoulder and to develop a new position description accordingly. The firm agreed to revamp its organizational structure to build a sound foundation under the senior administrative managers.

One of our most experienced consultants, who had helped dozens of firms with such searches in the past, was able to generate a tremendous amount of interest in the firm and the position. From the many resumes submitted for the job, we contacted the top twenty candidates to pre-qualify them for further scrutiny. The seven or eight best were chosen for in-person interviews, and from that group, three finalists were recommended to the firm.

The managing partner was extremely satisfied with Altman Weil’s holistic approach to defining the position correctly, designing the appropriate reporting structure, and finding several highly qualified candidates. The candidate judged by the firm to have the best “fit,” was hired for the job.